


We're Not Gonna Eat Your Brains

by digitalFlush



Category: EOS 10 (Podcast)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-17
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-04-21 04:08:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 6,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4814378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digitalFlush/pseuds/digitalFlush
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctors on EOS 10 get a nice little Zombie apocalypse situation! Can they handle fighting off their closest friends while searching for the cure?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hypocondriac

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [EOS 10](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/145052) by Justin McLachlan. 



> Please remember to leave a comment!
> 
> \------------------------------  
> Brief hiatus to finish the school semester! We're in the home stretch for this! Thank you to everyone who rode this train with me!

“What is it this time, Levi?” Nurse Johns sighed, their regular customer stood in front of her, his usual expression of fear and ‘I-am-going-to-die’ attitude. “Nurse Johns, I’m afraid I have contracted the flu!” he insisted. “My body aches, I’ve had muscle spasms, and fever!”

Johns decided to humor him and checked his temperature.  
“I don’t see anything wrong, and we shouldn’t have that virus on board, not since the antivax ship left. You’re fine Levi.” She waved him off, disgruntled that he wasn’t actually ill.  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Back in his room, Levi rubbed his sore neck and sat down on his bed. “I cannot believe I got such a rarity.” He confessed. A familiar robotic voice chimed in. “A rare fungus? How did you even smuggle that on board?”

“It was easy. I simply paid Akmazian a formidable sum, though it certainly left a sizable hole in my own sums. Fortunately I will make at least three times that amount with the sale.” His eyes were trained on a flowering fungus potted in the corner of his room. “It is a bit…ugly, isn’t it?” The interface asked. Grey with pale pink dots it certainly looked a bit ill. “I have to agree, the Petrigraphilus is rather…distasteful. But it will most certainly be worth it.” Levi smiled at his prize.  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ryan, have you tasted this stuff? It’s disgusting!” nurse Johns complained to her fellow medical co-worker, while playing with her food.  
“For the fifth time, yes Jane!” He huffed as Urvidian took his first bite. “Good God, this sauce tastes like dirt.”

“Good day friends.” Levi leaned on the table, “What do you think of my new Sauce?” Ryan shook his head. “Where do we even start with this…gruel?”  
“Gruel?! Nonsense!!! I’ll have you know the ingredients were rather expensive!” Levi jumped to his own defense. Urvidian chimed in, “Then you paid a lot of money for a load of crap. I doubt this would have even tasted good when I was drunk.” Levi’s shoulders fell, “well, if that’s how you feel, then that is the last time I use Travelian Finster root in a sauce…I thought it tasted well enough.” He seemed suddenly depressed.

“Um, Levi? Are you feeling alright?” Ryan spoke up. “You hate Travelian Finster root. You said so yourself.”  
“Did I? Well that was then. Now I have discovered the wonders of its versatility in the kitchen!”  
“Apparently not,” Jane commented, “because this sauce tastes like garbage!”  
“Well, maybe you are the garbage!” Levi huffed, storming off.

The three friends sat in shock. “That was…” Ryan began, “Weird?” Jane finished. “You’re telling me. Those were some pretty violent mood swings. And since when does he have awful taste in food?!”


	2. Dinner Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's for dinner in the cafeteria today?

“Is Levi ok?” Ryan asked Nurse Johns as she entered the staff break room. “He’ll be fine. Dr. Oslong is in there right now giving him the full range of tests, though his skin is still greying and we found a weird bump on his neck? Also, he totally wigs out at the heart monitor beeps! It’s hilarious!” She laughed.

Ryan shook his sighed. “Jane, this is serious. We have no clue what he has or if he’s contagious at all! And he was working in the Kitchen! Everyone ate that dirt sauce.” Jane pushed her hair back. “I know, I know! I’m just trying to make light of this. It’s kind of crazy to discover a new disease…” She huffed. Urvidian came in, frustrated and in his scrubs. 

“Any news, Doctor?” Jane asked as Urvidian dried his hands and threw in the towel. “Negative. All of the tests.” Ryan sat forward, “Are you saying that we have no record of whatever is doing this to Levi?”  
“None!” Urvidian threw up his hands. “They’re not even reading anything wrong with him! Which is the most ridiculous idiocrasy! Stupid machine!” he flopped onto the chair next to his co-workers. 

\-------------------------------------------------------  
Oslong sighed and shut down the machinery. Levi had checked out of consciousness long ago and lay on his small hospital bed. Oslong tugged on his stethoscope hanging from his neck and stared down at Levi. Suddenly the alien prince lunged up from his bed and dug his fingers into Oslong’s arm who yelled out in pain as his blood was drawn. He yanked his arm away as Levi went back into his deep sleep as though nothing had happened.  
\-------------------------------------------  
“Have you seen Oslong today?” Jane asked over lunch, staring at the Doctor’s usual table. Ryan set his tray down. “No, actually. He called in sick today, something about body aches?” He sat and began picking at his food. “…Wasn’t he working on Levi’s tests last night?” Jane hesitated, stopping Ryan mid bite.  
“You don’t think…” He put down his fork. Jane looked nervous.  
“Jane, he’s not an idiot. If he contracted something from one of the patients he would have told someone, preferably me.” Urvidian said, sitting down beside them. “By the way, we still have no conclusive tests, thanks for asking.” He immediately began eating. Ryan shook his head. “Hopefully we will have some of those blood samples from the labs on Earth soon.”  
A scream from the other side of the cafeteria drew their attention. There stood Levi, grey skinned and raving, a large flower growing out of the back of his neck. People backed away from him as he lashed out, bloodshot eyes visible even from Ryan’s table. “Holy hell!” Ryan shouted. The three of them jumped into action. “Someone hold him down and get the anesthetic!!!!”


	3. Patient Zero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation of this mysterious disease!

Sirens rang through the station, red lights flashing as the entire station was quarantined.

"Ok, I need everyone who came into contact with Levi to head directly to the clinic!" Ryan said, standing on a cafeteria table. Other Doctors and Nurses escorted the terrified citizens to the clinic. "Nurse Johns," He said stepping down, "Go find Dr. Oslong so we can make sure he didn't contract this weird disease."

"Alright. I just hope he's not that hard to track down." Jane ran out of the cafeteria towards Dr. Oslong's quarters.

 

"Who put you in charge, Mister high and mighty." Urvidian grumbled, arms crossed across his chest.

"Do you have any suggestions Dr. Urvidian? Because I'm trying to prevent a full on plague here!" Ryan snapped defensively.

"Aren't you grumpy today."

"Hey, I'm allowed. We just had to quarantine the  _entire station!"_ he huffed.

"There's no point in grumbling about it when there's work to do. Come along, we have a panicked populace to attend to."

\--------------------------------

Within the Clinic Doctors Dalias and Urvidian hurry back and forth with the assistance of few others, attempting to deal with everyone's concerns and symptoms. Urvidian pauses at a kiosk to read up on a few patients when Jane rejoins them. "Nurse Johns, how nice of you to finally join us." Urvidian chides without removing his eyes from the kiosk.

Ryan pauses on his rounds, "Any luck finding Dr. Oslong?" he asks hopefully.

"Not yet. The Interface and I have been scanning every deck." She huffs.

"Well, maybe you should try and ask Akmazian? He seems to have a good idea of the ship's layout." Ryan suggested.

Johns shrugged, "I mean, yeah if I could find him I guess. Where's patient Zero?"

"Heavily anesthetized and still thrashing against his restraints in his own private room." Urvidian rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. "His blood may as well be pure sedative by now."

"Geez! And what about the others?" Johns queried.

"Actually, only the one's who's skin was broken in the struggle are showing symptoms. One of them is moving along really fast and was bit." Ryan explained.

"Wow, it almost sounds like-" Jane was cut off by a grumpy old doctor.

"Zombies?" Urvidian jumped in. "That would be preposterous" The three friends eyed each other, each knowing that someone had to say it, each daring someone to speak first.

"Radical mood swings, blood shot eyes, skin discoloration, lack of control, extreme violence," the southern accent came from the shadows and caused them all to jump. "Certainly sounds like a case of T-Virus to me." Akmazian stepped from the shadows in his usual Robin Hood outfit. "Now, would someone like to tell me what in the hell is going on here?"


	4. Twenty Four Hours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm avoiding any major spoilers for the canon if I can help it. So, whether you've listened to one episode or all of them you will be able to read this!

The entire hospital staff was now on call, new patients arriving by the hour. Dr. Horace Urvidian sat on a provided cot, leaning on his knees in an exhausted manner. Sitting up, he rubbed his tired face, as though he were waking up the cells for another round. "How are there so many..." He muttered to himself. "Interface, any luck with locating Dr. Oslong?"

The familiar female voice chimed in with it's robotic voice. "No data found for the location of Dr. Oslong. Search continuing." She responded calmly.  
Urvidian swore under his breath and rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration.  
\------------------------------------------------  
Each of the Hospital staff was given an 8 hour break, which Dr. Urvidian planned to spend in his quarters getting a well deserved rest. He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling until sleep began to close his eyes.

That's when he heard it. The shift in the vents. The uncommon creak and shudder just above his quarters.

Horace stood, approaching the door. "If this is some kind of sick joke I-" There was no time to finish his sentence as the roof caved from the weight in the air vents. There, on the floor lay a dusty, pale grey version of the familiar Dr. Oslong, moaning. Weird flowers had sprouted from his body, mainly around his forehead and along the base of his neck. 

"Good GOD man! What in the galaxy is that? A...A Fungus?!" Oslong jerked to eye contact with Urvidian, gurgling some odd reply before lunging at the alcoholic. Following his instinct Urvidian punched Oslong to the ground and rushed out of the room. "Interface! Get security!!!" He hollered.

 

\------------------------------------------------

"Dr. Urvidian!" Ryan practically jumped as the man ran into the debriefing room where he and nurse Johns sat after the meeting had long finished, bags under their eyes. Urvidian slammed the door behind them.

"It's a fungus!" he yelled angrily. "Oh, also we have Dr. Oslong in a room similar to Levi's." Urvidian sat down calmly at the table. "Should I get us snacks as we watch our patients die from a fungus from God knows where that's doing God know's what to them?" He offered.

"Actually, we may have a good idea. Wait, Dr. Urvidian?" Ryan put down the coffee cup in his hand. "Is that a scratch on your arm?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had hoped to update daily, but it looks like update will be sporadic as I work around school.


	5. Vaccines

Urvidian pulled down his sleeve. "It's nothing. Tell me what you've found, Dr. Dalias."  
Ryan huffed. "If you've got an open wound from one of the infected..."  
"Oh my God, he's gonna turn into one of those grey things, isn't he?!" Nurse Johns's eyes widened. "No, not unless he got scratched by Dr. Oslong." Ryan said calmly. "You didn't, did you?"

Urvidian rolled his eyes. "So what if I did? Oslong lunged and I punched." He had an obvious mark on his forearm where Oslong had clawed him. Ryan groaned. "Then you have 24 hours. Great." he covered his face with his hands. "Says who?" Urvidian demanded.

"Says this research. And since we had our patient zero come in from the start it was easy to pin down symptoms." Johns explained, turning on a holograph in the middle of the table that showed a vaguely homonoid body system. "What we can figure is that whatever this weird fungus is enters the body through an open wound and attaches to any and all nerves that it can get it's roots on." Jane explained, the holograph demonstrating as she spoke. Ryan ontinued where she left off. "This is what causes the body aches. The taste changes come when the fungus enters the brain and a spore-less flower grows from the back of the neck."  
Jane grinned. "Where Levi is at now he's got some kind of freaky ass flower crown growing out his head. Also, the Fungus is immune to anesthetics and can continue to move the body long after the host brain is under."

Urvidian sat back. "Next you're going to tell me they want to eat brains."

"Actually, no. I looks like the fungus is just interested in infecting as many people as it can and then using its neural roots to feed off the rest of the body. They seem to leave the brain mostly intact, just in a boneless, muscleless sack." Johns shrugged. "So you really won't be craving brains anytime soon."

"Can we use one of these flowers to find a cure then?" Urvidian ignored Johns's comment.  
"Unfortunately, no." Ryan sighed. "Levi never had an open wound. Wherever he got the infection from, he either ingested or inhaled it, and if Levi were to be exposed to anyone or if this fungus were to progress further, well, we'd be screwed." He sighed.

"Basically," Jane chimed in, "We need to find the source. Fast."


	6. The Problem with Plants

"What do you mean nothing?!" Jane shouted at a hooded figure as nurses and doctors hurried past.  
"I mean there was nothing unusual in Levi's or Oslong's rooms." Akmazian explained in an annoyed tone. "The interface wasn't much help either."  
Jane pushed her hair back. "Well, yeah. It's just an interface. Were you expecting some kind of complicated AI system? Listen, we're not looking for a regular plant or anything. Doctors Dalias and Urvidian both think that this plant will share characteristics with the patients. Grey, light pink spots, sickly looking. It can't be that hard to miss!"

"Riiight. Let me just pull out my amazing plant locating system and-" Akmazian was cut off by a harried Ryan. "Fungus." he rushed up to them.  
"Excuse me?" Akmazian blinked at the odd hello.

"It's a fungus, not really a plant in the technical sense." Ryan explained.  
"Well either way we can't find it." Jane crossed her arms across her chest.  
"What? Nothing, not even a trace? It's been 5 hours. If we don't act soon, well, I don't want to think about how long it will take to regrow all those muscular and bone structures, if there's anything left to regrow." Ryan shook his head as a newer nurse ran up, obviously harried.

"Dr. Dalias? Um, I'm sorry to interrupt but I was told to get you. For Dr. Urvidian?"

"What? No, you're fine. Sorry, Urvidian? Where is he?"

 

\------------------------------------------------------------

Dr. Urvidian sat in his office, not glancing up from his deep concentration on an unopened bottle of amber liquid. "You know the problem with plants? They just keep on growing. You can't just get rid of them, can you Dr. Dalias?" He finally looked up. "You're not-"

\------------------------------------------------------------

The lights flickered in the medical wing. "Not now! Has anyone seen Dr. Urvidian? And what the hell is going on with the lights? Interface!"

The familiar beep sounded. "Yes, Dr. Dalias."

"What's wrong with the lights?"

"Power fluctuations in the Medical Sector. A major pull of power has occurred in the residential decks."

"Ugh, no no!" Ryan pushed his hair back out of his face. "Not this too!"

\-------------------------------------------------------------

Jane stood in the quarters for their own patient zero. The second he had stopped thrashing around she had rushed into action. Well, more was ordered and coaxed and promised a spa day from Dr. Dalias. But still rushed into action.

"H-Hey Levi?" She inched forward.

No sound came from the prince except something that sounded like light breathing.

"I'm going to see how your bones and organs are, ok? We want to make sure they're healthy...for the fungus to eat, you know?" She tried. Maybe it was sentient and could hear her? But again, light breathing. "Aaaalright." She was practically on top of him and began her scans. Levi barely moved the entire time until the nerves scan. His eyes widened and the violent thrashing began again, causing bruising and open wounds that bled like molasses.

Jane was across the room in a second, jotting notes before practically running from the room.

She went back to her own quarters, pausing as she entered. A strange new house plant was sitting on her table. Grey and sickly pink, She recognized it almost immediately and dove for her emergency respirator mask. "Oh my God, I have the fungi..." She marveled. "Wait, Interface? Is this the fungi that Levi smuggled on board?"

"Yes, Nurse Johns. Building fungus profile now."  
"Oh thank God."

Jane took one of her bed sheets and wrapped up the plant, to prevent panic. "And now for a seal. Hey! You can't be in here you'll get sick!"

A tall, buff woman stood in the doorway, Dr. Urvidian drug behind her. "I can assure you,  _I_ will be fine.  _You_ on the other hand..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please remember that comments and reviews are the best thing for a writer!


	7. Lost and Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to thank the wonderful community in the EOS 10 fan base who have read my story!

The tall woman effortlessly pulled Urvidian's unconscious body into the room before stepping around it towards Jane.

"Oh no you don't!" Jane threw the potted fungus at the intimidating creature who dove for it, Jane dashing out the door and slamming down on the deadbolt button. "Shitshitshit, I need to find Ryan!" She leaned on the door, huffing as the lady pounded her fists on the door.

\-----------------------------------------------------

Ryan hurried from patient to patient, each minute the count growing in number. Even some of the medical staff was disappearing at this point. Some came in the moment they received an open wound from the fungus zombies, some waited until the last minute and infected his nurses and doctors.

"Looks like you've got your hands full." Ryan jumped at the southern accent just over his shoulder.

"Ak- Robin!!! What the hell are you doing here! Did you leave the quarantine zone?" Dr. Dalias hissed, pulling the hooded figure further out of sight.

"No, just found something you might-" a bang and scream from the nearest room interrupted them. "ugh, what now?!" A young doctor ran by, scrambling backwards when he saw Dalias. "They're out! They're-" Her hurried warning was stopped by a patient's mouth clamping onto her face and slowly dragging across. "SHIT!" Ryan yelled, pulling Akmazian into full view as they ran across the hall to an open door.

Slamming the door, Akmazian glanced back to see what had become of the young Doctor, only to find that his skin had already changed. Behind him he heard a scraping and a deathly gasp. He turned to see Ryan punch a patient unconscious. "What the hell?!" Akmazian commented. Ryan huffed and pushed back his hair. "What do you have."

\---------------------------

Jane leaned against the wall just outside her room. The banging on the door had ceased, but she couldn't just open the door, that would be suicide.

A buzz from her room intercom was quickly followed by a sultry voice straight from a noir film.

"Miss Jane Johns. Open this door right now or I will begin taking body parts off of this barely conscious man." The blond threatened.

A soft moan came from Urvidian as he slowly came to, transmitted in the background of the intercom transmission.

"Just give me the plant, you Bitch!" She yelled.

Jane's call was met with a soft chuckle. "You make demands while I have the leverage? Besides, you're the one who threw it at me. Beyond that, it's about to spore, and I doubt you have the assets to deal with that."

"Assets?"

The intercom abruptly cut off with Urvidian yelling. "Wh- NO NO NO!"

\-------------------------

Ryan blocked the door with a hospital bed, blocking them in. "The fungus is evolving, advancing more rapidly. Now PLEASE. Tell me you have something useful!"

Akmnazian failed miserably at hiding his impression. Beyond the window patients lunged at hospital staff and concerned loved ones. Some still slammed against the door, having followed the two men's escape.

"I might have something that could help." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small grey and pink flower in a vacuum sealed bag.

Ryan rushed over. "Where did you find this?!" He exclaimed, taking the bag carefully from Akmazian.

"In a hallway just inside your secondary quarantine. It was growing quickly and might just break the seal soon. You'd better figure this out fast or kiss EOS 10 and the rest of the sector goodbye."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback and kudos are the best motivation. Thank you for your support and please remember to support the wonderful people who make EOS 10 as well!


	8. Something Wicked This Way Comes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive any spelling errors! I will do my best but I'm on mobile today. I will fix it as soon as possible! Thank you

"Akmazian, don't stand too close. And keep your mask on!" Ryan said from beneath a respirator. Akmazian sighed and pulled it down over his face.

"Is all this really necessary?" He complained.  
"Yes unless you want to die." Ryan said, opening the vacuum seal and carefully pulling out the fungus. "Now help me dissect this so we can cure these people."  
The patient from earlier began to wake up by Ryan's feet and was met by a quick kick from Dalias. "They'll be fine." He said as the body went limp once more.

\------------------------

Jane reluctantly opened the door after minutes of radio silence. The room was dark and eerie, the light flickering ominously. "Great, now I'm the star of Alien." She sighed, composing herself to enter. "You better not have hurt Urvidian!" She said, picking up the nearest lamp for a weapon.

As the words left her mouth she heard the sickening crack of bones and the tearing of skin that usually coincided. "Oh my GoaAAAAH!" Urvidian screamed, followed by a thud. It was now that Jane regretted her slightly larger room. "Urvidian?" She ventured further into the flickering light.

A low grumble, possibly a dying animal attempting to laugh, rumbled to Jane's ears. She shivered internally. "Come on out you creep!!!!" She yelled.

The sound came once more. "Oh you have no clue." it sounded like the woman, but constricted through a gravel pipe, and right. Above. Jane.

\-----------------------------------

"this is...impossible." Ryan Dalias said from his make-shift lab. Akmazian leaned against the door, now rythmically being slammed against by the infected. "Yeah, it's a plant that possess brains. Want some evidence?!" Akmazian said, his hood now down. The room had grown hot since a few had tried to sneak in through the air vents, which were quickly shut. 

"No, this fungus. It's genetically modified."

"so?"

"So, it's directly related to an Earth fungus that only affects ants! Similar symptoms."

"Great. Hope the ants figured a cure for this! And maybe that you have a point?" He said impatiently.

"Sorry! It means that this has been purposefully modified for the different major species on EOS 10! Someone with a lot of time and resources did this." Ryan threw up his hands in excitement, clearing his throat and coming back to the seriousness of the present situation. "I think I can engineer a cure but, it will have to be injectable." he frowned.

"Well isn't that peachy. Not like they want to infect us once we get close enough. Mind hurrying up that cure? This door won't last much longer!" Akmazian grunted under the force of bodies.

\-------------------------

Jane Johns glanced up ever so slowly, lamp raised like a bat.

Just above, clinging to the ceiling, was a twisted and deformed version of the blond from before. Muscles far too large rippled in an ungodly fashio between flickers. Nurse Johns dove back towards the door as the woman- no, beast- fell from the ceiling and landed on her feet. Jane stood in the doorway, taking deep breaths.

"Come on Jane. Now is your chance. Fight or die!" She spun around and raised her lamp in attack. "BRING IT, FREAK SHOW!"


	9. Resident Evil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit more intense than previous chapters! Also body horror. Thank you!

The hulking figure stood on its back legs, now well over 6 feet tall. It uttered a gurgling sound that could have been a laugh, stepping into the light of the doorway.

"Oh. My. God." Jane almost dropped her lamp in shock. The creature that stood now seemed like it could never have been human, its muscles having overtaken the skin and only a few strands of blond hair left on its scalp. With a heavy step forward the creature lunged at Jane. "OH GOD!!!!!!" She screamed, jumping out the door and running down the hall. 

\------------------------------------------

"Hurry it up!" Akmazian was not having an easy time with the tens of bodies slamming in time against the door. "This door wasn't meant for pressure like this!!!"

"Almost...." Ryan had moved on to tinkering with a way to properly administer the cure without touching patients. The door creaked ominously. "Come ON Dalias!" Akmazian yelled as the door broke open to the surprise of Akmazian and the horde beyond. "GOT IT!" Ryan yelled, spinning around and shooting the infected, now lunging for the shocked Akmazian. Small darts stuck in them, one each. One by one, the patients fell to the ground, moaning and unable to move. Roughly 20 infected down in under a minute. Akmazian, strewn on the floor glanced at Ryan. "Well, well well..." He chuckled. "No one told me you were a straight shooter..."

Ryan fumbled a reload of cure vials. "No one told me the Alliance would sink this low. Come on, we have a spaceport to save." Ryan marched out with his improvised dart gun. Akmazian followed, having scrambled to his feet. "Hey, Tex, where can I get me one of those? So as to avoid getting bit and all?"

\-----------------------------------------

Jane scrambled around a corner and held her breath. She hadn't run far but she hoped the muscle gain had also resulted in brain cell loss. The thud of heavy feet echoed the hall, then, nothing. Jane dared not peek around the corner. The steps grew closer, heavy mouth breather that it was it wasn't difficult for Jane to track the beast. It was right around the corner now, on all fours. She could hardly hold her breathe anymore. The head peered round the corner and spotted her, grinning. Jane raised her lamp and yelled "DEATH TO THE OPPRESSOR!" Before smacking it on the head with all her might. The lamp lodged into its skull, easily sliding through the decomposing bone. The monster yelled and and lunged at Jane. "Shit!" She jumped backwards and scrambled as best she could around it only to be pinned to the wall by a giant, grotesque, hand.

Jane struggled and squirmed under the grip of the grinning beast, unable to get a full breath in. The hulking head pulled in close to hers and grinned. In it's gravely, gurgled voice it muttered "rip. and tear...limb. and. death..." Jane pulled away from the smell of breath. "Why-" She managed before another object was slammed into it's head. The creature lurched around, swinging it's free arm directly into the already wounded Urvidian, throwing him down the hall with great force. Jan used the distraction to slam her foot into its muscled hand. The creature pulled back, its constant screaming in pain followed by fierce thrashing.

"Don't mess with my head Doctor!" She pounded the intrusions into its brain further when it's head swung back her way. The creature, once a human, fell with a thud at her feet, her own breath heavy. Urvidian moaned from down the hall.

Nurse Johns stumbled as quickly as she could to his side. "Urvidian, come on, stay with me!" She said to the battered man. He coughed, holding his ribs. "Only I get to...torment my staff." He choked out. Jane laughed despite herself, a tear escaping onto her cheek. "You stupid old bastard!" Nurse Johns delicately assessed his wounds, his skin paling from infection, the pink spots already showing up.

\----------------------------------------------

Akmazian and Ryan stuck close to each other, inching their way through curiously empty halls. "Ryan, wasn't this place crawling with people just a half hour ago?"

Ryan cocked the cure gun, taking careful steps. "Akmazian." He handed him the gun. "I'm trusting you."


	10. A Debriefing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Things got intense back there! How about a quick break?

"Ryan Dalias I am not taking this gun from you." Akmazian denied the gun.

"Don't be an idiot." Ryan rolled his eyes. "I need you to stand guard. Just two doors down is Levi's room. If we get in there and give him an injection, we will at least have our patient zero fixed. And another ally. All you need to do is guard the door."

"Oh. I knew that." Akmazian took the gun and aimed as Ryan darted down to the door, jiggling the jarred door. "Damn! Interface, redirect enough power to open this door." he whispered hurriedly. A patient shuffled around the corner away from them, grumbling in some gargled throaty tones. "Power redirected." The Interface beeped loudly, lights flickering as the door slid open and the patient span around to see them.

"graow...." they said, their shuffle shifting into a limped run. "Graow!" they insisted until Akmazian shot them in the thigh with a dose of medicine. The patient fell just near Dalias who pulled them into Levi's room. Akmazian followed, pushing the button to shut the door behind. Ryan glared at the ceiling. "Interface, you really don't need to be that loud! You gave me a heart attack and nearly killed us!"

A beep sounded followed by the Interface's annoyed, algorithmically driven voice. "I'm sorry, no one has bothered to talk to me in weeks. And now, a crisis and all you can say is 'Interface do this' and 'interface get me that'! I have feelings. Treat me with respect!" the computer chastized.

"I'm sorry that there's been such a neglect. Just, please lower your volume!" Ryan huffed, carefully approaching Levi's bed.

"fine." she complied reluctantly.

Levi seemed peaceful, sleeping even. A crown of Fungi sprouted from his forehead, his sick skin now blending with the natural color of the plant. Root-like tendrils had taken hold across his lips, thin and delicately winding back up towards the crown along the nose. As Ryan prepared a needle from his coat pocket, Levi's eyes burst open causing both parties to jump back in shock and Akmazian to raise the gun. "Just let me shoot him! No need for suspense!"

Ryan held up his hand. "Hang on now, Levi has been exposed longer. This is a stronger dose. We need to save those- for lack of better word, bullets- for the patients roaming the quarantine."

The tendrils across his lips pulled away, joining the intricate pattern on his nose almost as though a command had been given. "Hello..." came the curious response of Dr. Dalias.  
"....Hello." Came a rough, gargled impersonation of his friend's voice.  
"oh, so you talk now!" Ryan watched, taking mental notes. "Care to tell me what you're doing on this ship?"

Levi slowly sat up, turning his head to face Ryan to make unblinking eye contact. "We traveled here with the dead. We wish to survive and spread our love to everyone." Fungal Levi said.

"Wow, rather eloquent for something devouring my patients' organs. When did you learn to speak like this?" Akmazian held steady aim as Ryan spoke.

"We do not like the cowboy. Please, take him away from our royal room." The voice sounded less gargled now.

"Consider him my medical assistant. Now, we don't want to hurt you-"  
"yet you shoot my extensions with 'cure'."  
"...Yes, but that's only because we feel threatened. You've taken over a full quarter of a million people, of all sorts of species. We just want our own people back."

Levi paused. "Is this not what you wanted? This is evolution. I was told to evolve."

Ryan's frown deepend. "Wait, told? Who would tell you to take over a space station?"  
The fungal alien tilted it's head to convey confusion. "Your Galactic Alliance."


	11. Infected

Johns inspected Urvidian fully. "Right, ok. Looks like a few broken ribs and very quickly spreading infection are the least of your worries..." she frowned as his coughing fit started up again.  
"I'll be fine. A shambling idiot who's body is decaying beneath them, but fine." He shifted and winced. "Nurse, would you mind finding me a pillow, I don't think I'll be moving for a while."

"No way. I don't want to enter my dark, spooky quarters! Not after that...thing. What happened anyways?" Jane glanced back at the dead zombie woman behind her.

"Probably can be determined by tests later. For now, since you won't get me a pillow, give me your coat." Horace stared at the ceiling and held out his hand for a jacket. "No can do, just Nurses' scrubs" was the greating his open palm received. "Fine." He huffed. "I'll remain uncomfortable. Dying. On the floor."

 

"Ih shut up you broken idiot. I'm in control of your fate, so you aren't dying today unless it's so I can bring you back." she ripped off strips of his shirt to use as bandages.

 

"Why not use your own shirt?"

 

"you've got more fabric and I'm not ruining a perfectly good top just to appease your perverted ass."

 

"Why I never!" He scowled. "Ungrateful- ow! Must you set my bones with such force?!"

 

"Only way to get you to shut up sometimes. Now I need you to stand. If you can at least limp your way back to the infermary, maybe we can help get you better, alright?" Jane stood up and offered a helping hand. 

Hesitantly, Horace accepted. "Alright." he complied, using her arm to help himself up, left arm held stiffly from being broken. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to finish this! I'm dediating this chapter to Rosie, Laura, and Fallon.


	12. Inching Closer

Jane and Dr. Urvidian made slow progress as they marched towards the hospital. Dr. Urvidian was getting worse by the minute.

"Nurse Johns, not to be a depressed dying old man, but what are we going to do once we," he paused for a violent coughing fit, "once we hit the hoards of infected who only want to turn you into a walking mushroom?"

Jane hoisted his arm back up around her shoulder. "I figured I could just throw you at them and punch a few jaws." She joked, though her face wore an expression of worry. What were they going to do?

After roughly half an hour, Jane and Urvidian saw their first glimpse of the mass infected. Jane froze. She was too injured to fight 10 of these inhibition-less sick, and there was no way Urvidian could do more than lay on the floor.

As the gray faces turned to face their next root outreach, the Interface made a ship-wide announcement. "All of the Quarantined areas are being detoxed through an aerosol medication. Air vents will be fully opened and put on the coldest setting to preserve the properties of the medication." With a beep and a whir, the interface had stopped its announcement and opened the vents. A pink mist blew on chilly, artificial wind.

A slightly hysterical laugh escaped Jane as she watched those around her breath in her saving grace. "Ryan, haha! Oh thank god for Ryan!" She laughed heartily, sitting on the floor with Horace who took as deep a breath as his fungus-filled lungs could manage.

\------------------------------------

Confused and exhausted people wandered the quarantine area looking for loved ones and their own rooms. Jane pushed through the crowds, Urvidian on a hover bed she stole from a medi-van. "Out of the way! Move it or lose it, Important Doctor coming through!" She shouted.

"Honestly, Nurse Johns, I'm not dying." Horace Urvidian protested from his bed.

"Shut up and let Ryan fix you up. RYAN DAHLIAS!" she shouted, skidding to a stop just outside the climate control room for the hospital wing. Inside she found Akmazian. "Akmazian! Where's-" Jane stopped mid-sentence, a reaction to Akmazian's own expression.

"I-I'm sorry, I couldn't..." He trailed off in sadness.

"What. Happened." Jane demanded. "What did you do!"

 Akmazian leaned on the counter, refusing to look at the Doctor and nurse behind him. "We went to cure Levi...it was, he made me stand guard. Next thing I knew I was running low on cure bullets and he was handing me a can of medicine and telling me to plug it into a the AC...I left the room and him with Levi. When I came back he had jettisoned the entire room into space, airlock style."

Jane covered her mouth. "No, he couldn't have, he wouldn't!" Urvidian sat up on the bed behind her.

"I know he wouldn't he would have some kind of escape plan, wouldn't he?"

Akmazian addressed the Interface "Replay airlock release footage for high-security room number 0094."

A holo-screen slid down from the ceiling, replaying a silent video of Ryan yelling at a calm and smug infected and, talking? Ryan jabbed the cure needle into Levi's leg before getting slashed himself by Levi's claws. In the short seconds left in his life, Ryan slammed his fist into the emergency release, bursting the wall behind them open and sucking all in the room out into space.

Jane let out a small squeak. " ...They're gone, just like that?" She sat down on the floor, shock setting in.

Ryan and Levi were dead.


	13. I WILL EDIT THIS WHEN EO10 RETURNS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. The last chapter, the conclusion to the whole thing. Buuuuut I need inspiration first. So unless EOS10 posts, I doubt I will finish this anytime soon. Sorry for the delay.

........................................COMING SOON...............................................

_[In the meantime, please enjoy this alternate ending!](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5073526) _


End file.
